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1 June 1995
Doc. 7317
REPLY
from the Committee of Ministers
to Written Question No. 359
by Mr GÜNER
and Written Question No. 360
by Mr GÜL
on minority rights in Greece
I. Written Question No. 359 (2 February 1995, Doc. 7232)
Mr GÜNER,
1. Noting that today members of the Turkish Moslem minority in Western Thrace continue to be subjected to discriminatory treatment in every aspect of their lives, he has raised this deplorable situation on various occasions with the Committee of Ministers. The latest example of this is the case of Mehmet Emin Aga, Müfti of Xanthi, who has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for performing his religious functions;
2. Noting that Müftis are the religious authorities in Western Thrace and that they have a special place in the lives of the Turkish Moslem minority, their status being established by international treaties;
3. Believing that the Council of Europe has a responsibility for upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe,
4. To ask the Committee of Ministers,
Whether it believes that the persecution of Mr Mehmet Emin Aga, the elected Müfti of the Turkish Moslem minority in Western Thrace, is compatible with the responsibilities and commitments of the member states of the Council of Europe in the field of human and minority rights.
II. Written Question No. 360 (2 February 1995, Doc. 7233)
Mr GÜL,
1. Noting that the Turkish Moslem minority in Greece has certain rights and freedoms guaranteed by international treaties;
2. Learning with regret of the imprisonment of Mr Mehmet Emin Aga, the Müfti of Xanthi, on 24 January 1995, just before the Turkish Moslem minority was preparing to welcome the holy month of Ramadan, who has been sentenced simply for carrying out his religious duties, and thus not only religious freedoms of the Turkish Moslems in Western Thrace are violated, but also the said community is deprived of the leadership of their Müfti during the holy month,
3. To ask the Committee of Ministers,
If the behaviour of the Greek authorities is in conformity with the European values regarding freedom of religion of minorities.
III. Reply from the Committee of Ministers (24 May 1995)
The Committee of Ministers has considered the questions put by the Honourable Members. It notes that both questions cover essentially the same issues. Thus the Committee of Ministers has deemed it appropriate to address a common reply to the Honourable Members' questions.
The Committee of Ministers would like to assure the Honourable Members that it views very seriously the commitments to democracy, human rights and the rule of law accepted by member states under the Statute of the Council of Europe, the European Convention on Human Rights and other legal instruments.
The Committee of Ministers notes that the questions refer to an individual case of alleged discriminatory treatment and infringement of religious freedom in a member state of the Council of Europe, which is a Party to the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Committee of Ministers wishes to reiterate the view expressed on previous occasions in response to Written Questions Nos. 356 and 357 by Mr Güner that the most appropriate means of dealing with the issues raised by the Honourable Members is through the procedures laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights. Those procedures provide that alleged violations of one or more rights and freedoms guaranteed by the said Convention may be submitted to the European Commission of Human Rights by a State Party (Article 24) or by an individual claiming to be the victim of the alleged violations (Article 25).
The European Convention on Human Rights institutes a mechanism of control of respect of the obligations entered into by states Parties which is independent and judicial in character. The Committee of Ministers considers that it is precisely this mechanism, rather than the procedure of Written Questions and Answers, which offers the best guarantees of upholding individual rights and freedoms in particular cases.